In a packed conference hall, Corina Creţu and Sergei Stanishev spoke in their keynotes speeches on the challenges of maintaining effective cohesion policy beyond 2020 in the likely context of a reduced overall EU budget.

Expert panels also debated how cohesion policy can power the green economy, how to preserve pan-European solidarity, and how to use European investment to create sustainable jobs.

Mr Stanishev said:

"The three decades of cohesion policy are a great achievement of which our progressive family can be proud. But this also means that we have special responsibility for taking good care of its future.

"First and foremost, we need to counteract this tacit but widespread agreement that the EU will be devoting less money to its regional policy after 2020. I have a sense that this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy — but I have a fundamental problem with this. Cohesion policy is the most successful investment tool in the EU. It creates hundreds of thousands of jobs every year, and helps to increase quality of life better than any other policy in the EU."

Ms Creţu said:

"Cohesion policy is the cement that holds the European Union together. It is the best way to towards a strong and caring Europe for all. And it is also the most genuine expression of European solidarity in all our countries."

Closing reflections were delivered by Kerstin Westphal MEP, and the conference proceedings were summarised by Sergei Stanishev, who also emphasised that this was not the conclusion of the debate in itself but rather the beginning of a major debate in which PES will play a leading role.

A second major PES conference, entitled 'A new economic model for Europe', is scheduled for 12 October 2017. There will also be further PES cohesion events in the years to come as priorities for 2020 spending are negotiated and agreed.

Our website uses cookies so that we understand how you and other visitors use our website. If you would like to read more about our use of cookies and how you can
disable them, please view our Cookie Notice. By clicking the "I accept" button, you consent to the use of these cookies.